


the world is falling in love

by patriciaselina



Category: Exit Tunes Presents ACTORS (Album)
Genre: Declarations Of Love, Fluff and Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutually Unrequited, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Rare Pairings, Unrequited Love, rare fandom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-18
Updated: 2015-12-18
Packaged: 2018-05-07 10:33:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5453498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patriciaselina/pseuds/patriciaselina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Rei looks back at him. Marvels. This hopeless friend of his, this loudmouth, birdbrain, nutcase, scaredycat – how did he fall in love this deeply, and with <i>who</i>? He’d even managed to keep it a secret from his best friend?</i>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Nobody ever said that love was a piece of cake, but nobody ever really said that it would be <i>this</i> hard.</p><p>(Based on HoneyWorks' <i>Confession Executive Rehearsal</i> series.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Long time no see, AO3!!!
> 
> On the off-chance that any of you [follow me on twitter](https://twitter.com/postscriptress), this is the thing I keep previewing lately, under the hashtag #ハニワAU (HoneyWorks Alternate Universe) – a series of fanfiction involving the characters from the multimedia franchise _Exit Tunes Presents ACTORS_ , heavily based off HoneyWorks’ songs from the _Confession Executive Committee_ series.
> 
> Would like to give my utmost thanks to @OkamiTempest, @toasterization, and @sukuannas for reading this along with me! Am, ehrm, so, so sorry for the angst...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 「君の長い物語の中に僕わ少しでもいられたから？」
> 
> _Am I a part of your long story, even if just for a little while?_
> 
> –初恋の絵本-another story-

“I’ve been head over heels for you for a while now, yanno?”

“...”

“Seriously though. It’s been like. _Forever_.”

“...”

“Oi,” Takato grumbles, looking him in the eye. “What’s with the long face?”

“...”

“Well?”

“I’m just bracing myself for the punchline,” Rei deadpans.

“ _Ouch_ , bro, you _hurt_ me.” Takato says, an over-the-top expression of pain on his face as he clutches at his heart. Rei rolls his eyes, mock-punches him in the arm, and stomps off, Takato laughing as he follows suit behind him. “Geez, _Louise_ , you don’t have to reject me _that_ much...”

“So you’ve got someone you like?” Rei says, nonplussed as ever, even as Takato gets all up in his personal space, with his arm round Rei’s shoulder like that, their cheeks touching. Like a clingy oversized cat. “Color me surprised. Thought that bird-brain of yours couldn’t handle anything further than pickup lines.”

“Why are ya always this rude to me,” Takato huffs, “I passed today’s English quiz, I’ll have ya know!”

“... _barely_. You _barely_ passed today’s English quiz. And _only_ because Odawara- _sensei_ keeps giving you extra credit.”

“Tsukasa-san kinda has to, I mean, I work my ass off for swim tournaments _all the time_!”

“...when you’re not skipping club to practice _nanpa_.”

“You talk like I’m the _only_ one who does that.” Takato says, pouting, his free hand reaching up to poke Rei in the cheek.

“One is not ‘ _skipping_ ’ when one has already properly delegated one’s tasks beforehand.” Rei says, lifting one perfect eyebrow, looking Takato straight in the eye. “The things I do for you. I _swear_ , it’s like you’re a child who needs twenty-four-seven supervision.”

For some reason, Takato’s cheeks quickly color red, and he steps away from Rei, quickly, as if he’d just been burned.

“What happened.” Rei asks, no, _worries_ , despite the deadpan tone of his voice. “Did I just wound your all-too-fragile spirit again.”

“N, nothin’ – just gimme – five, nah, _three_ minutes...” Takato mumbles, his mouth and cheeks partly hidden by his hands. He’s been doing this an awful lot lately. Rei still can’t wrap his head around it, but it does remind him of – of how his own face looks like reflected through the classroom windows, when he and Mitsuki would –

– _oh_.

“Kiyosu, you idiot, earlier, when you said all that nonsense – were you planning to ask me to be your rehearsal partner?”

“It’s not like there’s anyone else I could ask, duh!” Takato wails, haphazardly swinging his arms around. His cheeks are a pretty, bright shade of red.

“Why don’t you ask Hanakuma?”

“Ya mean Ryuunosuke? Uh, why?”

 _Because that swim club manager’s crush on you is as plain as day_ , Rei thinks, but doesn’t say. If he does, he’d have to tell Takato about the time when Hanakuma pulled him aside and asked Rei, of all people, Rei, if he was going to let go of Takato any time soon.

Why people keep mistaking them as a couple, Rei doesn’t think he’ll ever understand.

“He looks like he’d be ready to help you with anything,” he says, instead. “After all, you’re in the same club, right?”

“Yeah. Poor kid still can’t swim. Wicked manager, though, and really fun to talk to – if he, yanno, got himself out there a bit more, he’d be friggin’ _gold_. You might find your position as my wingman threatened a lil’ bit.”

“Be my guest,” Rei says, grinning a bit, not missing a beat. “I intend to quit on nanpa in the immediate future, after all.”

“Ah, right,” Takato says, quietly, his expression unreadable as he focuses his attention somewhere far off. “ _Mitsuki_.”

“Right, _Mitsuki_.” Rei repeats, nodding to himself, his smile resplendent. “I won’t drag this out for much longer – I’m planning to tell him tomorrow. For real.”

“So quickly?”

“It’s been a week, Kiyosu. A week. If I tell him the truth any time after tomorrow, the chances he might not believe me anymore would increase by eleven percent. Especially since, well,” Rei makes a vague hand gesture encompassing the both of them. “ _This_.”

“Whaddya mean ‘bout ‘ _this_ ’ – wait, ya mean, _you_ and _me_?”

“We keep getting mistaken for a couple more often than not. That you’re naturally touchy-feely as heck doesn’t help matters.”

“It can’t be helped, ‘kay. I mean, you’re my best bro. Also, you’re adorably _tiny_ – _ow_!”

“Don’t push your luck, Kiyosu,” Rei says, smiling sweetly, and the only telltale sign to the fact that Takato had just been kicked on the shin is that he keeps holding on to it. “You want to live to see your own confession, right?”

“Oww...yeah, I guess so...wait, you’re gonna help me?”

“Because I am, after all, your ‘ _best bro_ ’.” Rei says, dry as ever, not even flinching when Takato suddenly ambushes him with a hug. They’ve been best friends for years. Rei’s gotten used to his weight by now. “If you ever need a second session, though, we’d have to schedule for after tomorrow. For reasons I already told you...wait a minute. Are you crying?”

“Am _not_ ,” Takato mumbles, despite the telltale wetness dripping on Rei’s collar that tells otherwise. “And, uh. Just today would be fine.”

“Really?”

Takato nods, sniffing away his tears as he does so. “God forbid I get in the way of all your dates and shit – ow, _ow_! You’re too damned strong, damnit!”

“You’re embarrassing me.”

“Yeah, I know, you _always_ say that.” Takato says, a hand on his nape, bashful all of a sudden. “Let’s go somewhere else? Can’t have me spillin’ out my feels, um, here.”

“The sidewalk is one of the worst places to practice this in, yes.” Rei nods. “Our usual place?”

“Yeah, yeah...um, _ha_.”

“What are you laughing about?”

“Oh, nothin’. It’s just, ha, if we do this there...we’re gonna end up looking like something out of a _shoujo manga_...”

“That’s your intention, though, isn’t it?” Rei says, turning to look at Takato from over his shoulder, a small smile on his face.

Just then, Takato’s mouth falls into a soundless “O”, and Rei isn’t exactly sure he’s breathing.

“Oi, Kiyosu. _Takato_.”

“...yeah, ‘m coming, _geez_ ,” Takato grumbles, his cheeks strangely pink.

What the hell is happening here.

The thing is, Rei mulls over, as they walk towards their ‘usual place’ – he actually does call him ‘ _Takato_ ’. Of _course_ he does – would he let the lout call him ‘ _Rei_ ’ otherwise? But ever since the rumors got particularly bad – actually, since _Mitsuki_ heard of them – he’d cut back on that, too.

...okay, he admits that was a bit cold of him, but Rei’s never really fallen in love before. He doesn’t know which measures would be drastic enough to apply at this stage, only that he’d rather Mitsuki not think he was attracted to someone else...

...actually, given that Rei’s entire “confession rehearsal” ruse relied heavily on the belief that Rei was in love with some non-Mitsuki person...well, maybe it was way too late for that...?

Oh, well, Rei would just have to clear that misunderstanding up later. Tomorrow.

But for now...

Rei walks across Takato, to sit down on the swing set he’d sometimes let Takato push him on when he was in one of his moods. “Give me your best shot,” he says, squaring his shoulders, crossing his arms.

While Takato catches his lower lip in his teeth – so he _does_ get nervous after all – Rei decides to tuck away his previous thoughts. To mull over such immaterial discrepancies would be beneath him – right now, his best friend asked for his assistance, and Rei’ll be damned if he won’t be the best confession rehearsal partner in recorded existence.

Okay. Second. He’ll settle for second, if that means Mitsuki gets first place.

“Kiyosu...”

“It’s just as I said, I’ve been into you for a long time now,” Takato says, without any kind of hesitance or preamble, his fringe hanging low on his face – Rei can’t really make heads or tails of the expression he’s making. “I like you.”

His voice cracks. This vaguely reminds Rei of that English film they watched together, the one that scared Takato into next week – a man left behind at the end of the world. But this isn’t Armageddon, not even close – it’s just Rei on the swing set and Takato with his heart on his sleeve, telling him words meant for someone else.

So Rei shuts his mouth, doesn’t ask him “ _are you okay_ ” or “ _why do you sound like you want to cry_ ” – only nods at him, beckons him to go further.

“Someone once told me that, at some point, you’ll remember the exact time you fell in love with somebody.” Ah, that was _him_ , Rei remembers, and Takato obviously does too, from the small grin his lips curl into. “I usually give ‘im hell about being such a know-it-all every time, but what the hell, this time, the guy was right. ‘Cuz I can still remember the time you laughed with me – must be something I said – and I remember thinking, god, you sound _perfect_. If I could, I’d protect you and that dork-ass laugh forever.”

Rei raises an eyebrow at him; he can’t help himself. “‘ _Dork-ass_ ’?”

“Yeah, I know I’m not exactly good with my words...zero percent success rate, remember? Ha.” Takato says, sheepishly grumbling, but Rei has no idea if he’s referring to him or if this is still part of Takato’s little speech. “But yeah...”

“I really like how your face just lights up when you smile. I like how your eyes go all huge when you’re happy. Heck, even the way your eyebrows get all scrunched up when you’re angry...all of it’s you, so yeah, I like ‘em all.” Takato stills, and says, his voice almost a whisper, “I _love_ ‘em all.”

The sun hangs low overhead, the street lights crackling open as they welcome the oncoming night. Rei thinks they should really go home before it gets really dark, so he searches for Takato’s eyes from underneath that goddamned fringe -

...that is, though, until Takato’s eyes find his first.

“I love _you_ ,” Takato says, as serious as he never had been about anything else, his eyes clear sapphire and glazed over – _oh, so he really **was** crying_ , Rei thinks. “Please be with me.”

Rei looks back at him. Marvels. This hopeless friend of his, this loudmouth, birdbrain, nutcase, scaredycat – how did he fall in love this deeply, and with who? He’d even managed to keep it a secret from his best friend?

 _Well_ , Rei thinks, _despite everything, he is a dependable guy, when he finds need for it. Good job, Takato._

“What,” Takato says, almost monotone – then again he must be emotionally exhausted, getting that all out and all – “ _Still_ waiting for the punchline?”

“No, not that, it’s just...you _really_ do like this person, don’t you?” Rei says, his eyes soft. “That was a _very_ heartfelt confession.”

“...yeah.” Takato says, his eyes damp, vision blurring over – but he doesn’t look away from Rei’s face, not even once. “Yeah, fuck me, I really do like ‘em, don’t I?”

“Why are you crying, again?” Rei tuts, taking his handkerchief out of his pocket, swatting Takato’s clumsy hands away so he can dab at the other’s tears. “You’ll get yourself sick at this rate...”

“Thanks for the concern,” Takato says, all closed-up and strangely formal all of a sudden, despite the fact that he’s still sniffling like a baby as Rei wipes away his tears. “But I’ll be fine.”

“Of course you will be. Whoever you’ll say that to would be very lucky.”

“Yeah... _very_ lucky.” Takato murmurs, his eye twitching. A nervous tic? Rei hadn’t seen that one before. “Thanks, Rei.”

“Anything, Takato.”

“...”

“Shall we go home now, before it gets too dark out?”

“‘Kay,” Takato says, taking a half-step back so Rei can stand up from the swing set and fall into step beside him – at his left, as he always does. As he always _did_ – from now on, Takato knows he’ll have to get used to using the past tense. “Hey, Rei?”

“Yes?”

“We’ll always be friends, right?”

“What kind of a question is – yes, of course, always.” Rei says, smiling slightly. “Heck, if things do end well and Mitsuki and I ever do pledge troths, rest assured because I can’t think of anyone else I’d like to have as best man.”

“Best man, huh...?” Takato trails off, as his smile threatens to split his face in half. Despite his suspiciously present tears, his smile is his usual one – the one that made Rei and the entire world aware that he was up to something. “I like the sound of that.”

Rei beams. “Glad you think so.”

“...I am. _So_ going to embarrass you in my speech, though.”

“...I should have seen that coming.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:**  For the purpose of complete disclosure – these two boys, Takato and Rei, are actually my OTP. Why is my first fanfic of them one about unrequited love? ...I actually am still asking myself that exact same question.
> 
> As is the par for my ACTORS fics, the cast list for this chapter:
> 
> [Takato Kiyosu](http://actorsmusic.jp/character/chara_09.html) and [Rei Ichijoudani](http://actorsmusic.jp/character/chara_13.html). Other characters mentioned are [Ryuunosuke Hanakuma](http://actorsmusic.jp/character/chara_10.html), [Tsukasa Odawara](http://actorsmusic.jp/character/chara_16.html), and [Mitsuki Akika](http://actorsmusic.jp/character/chara_02.html).
> 
>  **Takato:** Personality-wise, is closer to Natsuki (actual romantic, hyper, boisterous one who initiates a confession rehearsal); thematically, is closer to Haruki (brash, does not actually confess) – hence, the songs for his chapter are [Confession Rehearsal](http://vocaloid.wikia.com/wiki/%E5%91%8A%E7%99%BD%E4%BA%88%E8%A1%8C%E7%B7%B4%E7%BF%92_\(Kokuhaku_Yokou_Renshuu\)) and [Picture Book of First Love](http://vocaloid.wikia.com/wiki/%E5%88%9D%E6%81%8B%E3%81%AE%E7%B5%B5%E6%9C%AC_\(Hatsukoi_no_Ehon\)) – another story –.
> 
>  ** _nanpa:_** the “art” of picking up women, Takato’s canon hobby; in ACTORS canon his former _nanpa_ buddy was Rei, and his current _nanpa_ buddy is Ryuunosuke.
> 
> Due to the...err, emotional rollercoaster tendencies of this fic (in my friend Nii’s all-too-accurate words – “ _pain on top of more pain_ ”), I am doing my best to somehow upload two chapters at a time! ...I shall do my best.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 「好きになるくらい許して下さい」
> 
> _Please forgive me for the fact that I am in love with you._
> 
> –ヤキモチの答え

The setting sun playing peek-a-boo through the classroom windows is mesmerizing, probably. Even though it doesn’t even _dare_ hold a candle to what Mitsuki’s got his eyes on right this very moment.

“Thank you for making time for me,” Rei says, one of his hands uncharacteristically picking at the hem of his blazer. He can’t seem to dare look at Mitsuki’s face, which is adorable, but also frustrating, because Mitsuki would like nothing more than to see what kind of expression he has right now. “You see, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

Rei takes a deep breath, and Mitsuki feels as if he’d just taken the air straight out of his own lungs. The room seems oddly hot, all of a sudden.

“I’ve been in love with you for a long time now.”

Rei’s finally tilted his head up to look at Mitsuki, and oh _there it is_ – the orange sunlight illuminating his face, his eyes gleaming, eyebrows pulled together in concentration, lips pursed –

Mitsuki wants to kiss him. His heart catches in his throat.

He’s really got to be used to this by now. After all, this isn’t the first time Rei’s confessed to him...it’s the _fifth_.

Rei still _isn’t_ Mitsuki’s boyfriend, though.

Mitsuki’s thoughts about this situation are better condensed into three words that would most likely come from Ryou’s mouth, than his - “ _fuck this shit_ ”.

“...so?” Rei says, awkwardly clearing his throat. “How was that?”

“You did well today as always, Rei.” Mitsuki says, smiling hurriedly to mask the ache settling deep in his lungs because he wants to kiss him, oh _god_ , Mitsuki Akika wants to kiss Rei Ichijoudani so very much. But he can’t, no, not when... “The person you’re practicing for is very lucky.”

Rei’s cheeks, usually calm and nigh-flawlessly pale, suddenly color fire-engine red.

Mitsuki chuckles, loses himself in the adorable sight, if only so his mind would stop drawing up terrifying plans to inflict on whoever this person who makes Rei blush is.

“I never thought I’d ever see you looking this... _bashful_ , Rei.”

“...Mitsuki, can you not,” Rei sighs, though his mouth twitches a bit, a hint of a smile peeking through. _Rei should smile more often_ , Mitsuki thinks, it brightens up his already beautiful face. “You’re having way too much fun with this. It’s _embarrassing_.”

“Aw, but I’m just teasing you,” Mitsuki says, batting his eyelashes a bit, doing the thing he apparently does when he ‘ _convinces_ ’ Ryou to not attempt skipping, for once, to practice singing with them. “Friends do that, right?”

“ _Kiyosu_ does that,” Rei mutters, sounding a bit annoyed. “I expected better of you, Mitsuki.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Mitsuki chuckles, thankful that his face is partially hidden by his fringe, if only because that means Rei can’t really see the expression on his face.

_...Kiyosu, though. Takato Kiyosu._

Mitsuki would be dumb if he didn’t see how Takato looked at Rei, and he’d be an idiot to make nothing out of how Rei talks fondly of the swim club captain, in return. There were a lot of rumors about them, even – how they would ditch Rei’s successful pickups and all pretense of _nanpa_ so Rei could treat Takato to crepes or some other snack, how Takato would ruffle Rei’s hair and how Rei would slip and call him by his first name when nobody was looking.

When Rei went up to Mitsuki and asked him to help practice his confession, Mitsuki had forced up a smile and said ‘ _sure_ ’, willfully ignoring the ugly green-eyed monster inside of him that kept screaming ‘ _like **hell** am I going to help you confess to Takato-kun!_ ’

Rei was a nice person to talk to, after all, one of the few who could keep up with Mitsuki’s occasional nonsense. He’d somehow gotten himself into thinking that Mitsuki was the ‘ _epitome of perfection_ ’ or something – which was good, too, of course, what person wouldn’t appreciate the person they liked thinking they were the best thing since sliced bread? They spent so much time together, and he was the only one who ever got to set foot in Mitsuki’s ‘secret room’ – which, by the way, Ryou, does _not_ have any skeletons in it, just a healthy supply of hot drinks and the pocket Wi-Fi.

He doesn’t know when it started, but somewhere along the way Mitsuki wished he could just do something selfish like keep Rei in his secret room with him for the rest of recorded history.

“ _Ah_ ,” Keishi had said, his eyes twinkling, when Mitsuki had been too careless and let _that_ one slip. “ _That’s what they call ‘love’, isn’t it?_ ”

“ _How did you know...?_ ”

“ _Because you sounded like a TV drama, Mitsuki_.”

So when Rei called him aside after class, a few days back, and told him that he’d _been in love with you for a long time now!_ – Mitsuki had took note of how his heart sounded like a marching band, and how this was probably what ‘ _love_ ’ was.

 ...when Rei told him, minutes after, that he was sorry for confusing him and that he was practicing his love confession – Mitsuki also took note of the crushing feeling weighing down his chest, and how this was probably what ‘ _heartbreak_ ’ felt like.

Mitsuki has never been in love before, after all. He needs all the information he could get.

“So,” Mitsuki says, grinning his way back into the present, now fully aware that the fluffy feeling his heart gets when Rei turns to him is ‘ _love_ ’, “When are you going to put this confession of yours to good use?”

The thing about Rei’s cheeks being as pale as they are is that it means the blush spreads beautifully across his face when he gets all embarrassed. “Soon, hopefully.”

“Ah, I see.” Mitsuki says, smiling, still smiling, even though his heart seems to want to burst in his chest. “I wish you the best of luck, then.”

“Yes... _luck_.” Rei mumbles, more to himself, than anything. “I’ll need lots of that.”

Mitsuki chews on these words of his all the way into next week, to the point that Chiguma ends up having to cart him off into the infirmary one day – because he was spacing out, wasn’t looking, and before he could make sense of what was happening Mike Enjouji’s soccer ball had run into his face at speeds approaching that of a typical driver with road rage.

Chiguma had been so worried seeing Mitsuki’s nosebleed (well, it could’ve been _worse_ , he could’ve been a bit shorter and he would have broken his nose for _real_ – thank god for his height, Mitsuki thinks), but Mitsuki didn’t even notice it, only kept thinking that _tomorrow would be the tenth day since Rei first rehearsed with me_.

...since Rei’d always been aiming for a perfect ten at all costs, would that mean that tomorrow would be the end of it?

Tomorrow would be the tenth confession rehearsal – not today, because yesterday Rei had excused himself to accompany Takato on another one of his _nanpa_ attempts. “ _God only knows what that lout would get himself into if I wasn’t there,_ ” he’d said, with _such_ a lovely smile that Mitsuki had to pretend to yawn so Rei wouldn’t notice him tearing up.

That was the eighth day since he asked Mitsuki to help him practice, and Mitsuki had felt that it would be over then – but this morning, when they’d exchanged greetings in the hallway, Rei had leant in to him, very _very_ close, and asked Mitsuki if he could spare some time for him again, after class.

Takato had been looking at them the entire time, his lips pursed into an uncharacteristically grim line, and Mitsuki felt... _relieved_.

It was horrible. But yes. He’d felt _so_ relieved to see that he wasn’t the only one with these nasty feelings. Because that meant that these were _normal_.

A side-effect of love, so to speak.

Mitsuki heads off to class, bidding Rei farewell, and wishes that Keishi’s CCTVs don’t catch sight of the smug grin Mitsuki could feel spreading across his face as he turns away.

It’s a normal day of classes and lectures, and true to form Mitsuki still manages to pass recitations and get tests right despite the fact that his mind is at most only half-there the entire time. And that’s because his treacherous brain keeps asking, over and over, should I ask Rei _that_ again, this time?

 _That_ – the words he’d let slip the first time Rei rehearsed with him. _What would you do, if I took those words seriously?_

Back then, Rei had flushed an angry shade of red and frowned at him, but if he ever says that again Mitsuki thinks he’ll explain himself for real this time.

“Mitsuki-kun?” Mitsuki blinks, and suddenly all he can see is green – not the dark green of Rei’s hair, though, but the bright green of Chiguma Marume’s. “Mitsuki-kun, are you okay...?”

When it all comes down to it, Mitsuki’s always thought he was a very good liar. His smile doesn’t even waver as he calms Chiguma down, saying “I always am, Chiguma-kun, but thank you for the concern anyway.”

“...you _say_ that, but...” Chiguma mumbles, more to himself than anything, before speaking up to tell Mitsuki, “ _Sensei_ already dismissed class a while back.”

“...oh.”

“Also, Rei-kun’s been waiting for you at the door for a while now.”

“ _Oh_.”

There it is again, that very noisy marching band drumroll beat of Mitsuki’s heart. He wonders if Chiguma could hear it – wonders if _Rei_ , standing over there by the half-open door, could hear it.

“...he _did_ say he wanted to talk to me about something.” Mitsuki says, smiling. “See you tomorrow, Chiguma-kun.”

“Un, see you tomorrow, Mitsuki-kun! You too, Rei-kun!” Chiguma says, sweet smile in place, as he takes his cellphone out of his pocket and leaves the room. “Uh, hello, Mike? Yeah, sorry, I’ll be there soon, I _swear_ , _please_ don’t kick Kai so hard this time, he’s trying his best...”

“...you ever wonder what they’re up to in the Archeology Club?” Rei asks him, long after Chiguma’s footfalls have faded, setting his bag down onto one of the tables. “Their rank is awfully high, but...from what I’ve heard...”

“Their rank is awfully high because Washiho- _sensei_ loves doting over them,” Mitsuki says, chuckling a bit. “Then again, it’s a fair trade, considering he makes them do all his fieldwork, ha.”

“Their fieldwork _does_ look awfully tiring...” Rei trails off – and suddenly colors, most probably remembering the reason why he’s here in the first place. “Huh. Well.”

“As always, I’m ready when you are, Rei.”

“...thank you, Mitsuki.” Rei says, sucking in a breath through his teeth. He closes his eyes, and –

– when he opens them, Rei looks different. He looks more determined, somehow, like he does when he’s glaring a troublesome stain into its natural death, like he has for the past few days since they started doing this.

Not for the first time, and definitely not for the last, Mitsuki finds himself utterly stunned by how beautiful he looks like this.

 _Takato-kun would be very lucky to see Rei do this for real_ , Mitsuki thinks, a bit bitterly.

“I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time,” Rei says, his usual starting phrase, “but I’ve been in love with you for a while now.”

Mitsuki’s heart catches in his throat, like usual. But he doesn’t let it show – only keeps his face neutral, mentally urging Rei to carry on.

“I know I don’t seem like the kind of man to prioritize romance,” he says – oh _wait_ this one’s new? Mitsuki hasn’t heard him say this bit before. “And I know I’ll always seem to put other things first. My studies, my club work – but I _do_ love you, I really do, and if you would do me the humongous favor of being yours, I would take good care of you. I would do my utmost best to make you happy.”

The tension in the air is palpable, and Mitsuki no longer knows how long he’d been holding his breath for.

“So, what about it?”

“...huh?”

The smile that forms on Rei’s face then should seriously be outlawed by the Geneva Convention.

“Am _I_ good enough for you?”

_...is he just testing out a new line? He must be, there is absolutely **no way** that I’m supposed to come up with an answer to **that**...even if my answer to that would have been ‘yes, **more** than enough’..._

“Mitsuki.”

“...yes, Rei?”

“That question was for you, by the way.”

“So it was.” Mitsuki deadpans. His mind feels kind of numb. He doesn’t really know what he’s saying right now, because – because – did he just _imply_ that –?

“I’d like to offer you my humblest apologies,” Rei says, somehow sheepishly, “Because I’d been lying to you this entire time. This was never a rehearsal in the first place.”

“Oh?” Mitsuki could hear himself say, which is admirable, seeing as his brain is currently going into full-out panic mode.

“There was never anyone else in the first place,” Rei says, his voice a counterpoint to the chaos of Mitsuki’s mind right now, “There was just you, Mitsuki. And I have fallen in love with _you_.”

Suddenly it feels like the weight of heavy shackles have departed from somewhere within Mitsuki’s chest.

Rei was never in love with anyone else. He had been in love with Mitsuki this entire time.

And Mitsuki...

“I...”

“Yes?”

“I...have been thinking about some things, too,” Mitsuki says, hesitantly. He knows he has no clue what love is, but if Keishi sees it, if _sensei_ sees it, if Rei’s there to love and be loved by him – Mitsuki’s more than willing to take his chances. “And I could say that I feel the same way for you.”

“...you do?”

“Well, if anything, the person I end up with should know how to deal with all my nonsense.” Mitsuki says, smiling. “You’ve already proven yourself to be more than proficient in that regard.”

“That _is_ true,” Rei says, chuckling. “ _Please_ refrain from making death threats on the cat when Mitsutsuka’s in the room, though.”

“I will, I will. And...well, whoever _you_ end up with ought to realize just how important the pursuit of perfection is to you.”

“ _Deathly_ important,” Rei emphasizes, “It’s a hard job to undertake, but if I don’t work on it, then who will?”

“To be honest, though, I don’t know why you ever bother.”

“Really?”

“Because you never really needed to go searching for perfection in the first place – I see its embodiment already, and he’s standing here, right in front of me.”

“... _Mitsuki_ , you flatterer...”

“So, shall we go, then?” Mitsuki says, holding out his hand.

“Where to?”

“Oh, wherever – I figured that since I love you, and you said you loved me back, at this point anywhere we end up going to would be good, because it would set the stage for our first date.”

“Our usual café, then,” Rei says, interlacing his fingers with Mitsuki’s. “But before that, I’ll have to bring you over to our club room.”

“Why? ...planning on introducing me to your family so soon?”

“My ‘family’ already knows full well who you are, and I wager they’ve already left,” Rei says, “It’s just that I have a full first-aid kit in my club room locker and we really have to check on that nosebleed of yours.”

“How gallant of you,” Mitsuki says, squeezing his hand.

“But of _course_ ,” Rei says, squeezing Mitsuki’s hand back. “I _did_ just say I was going to take care of you, didn’t I?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** Fun fact: Rei’s VA, Hikaru Midorikawa, is in fact part of the _Confession Executive Committee_ series – as Saku Akechi, Haruki’s brother’s friend and Film Club faculty adviser. He is a side character in the vomics (voiced comics) and has one song with him as the focus – _[A Teacher, Detained](http://vocaloid.wikia.com/wiki/%E3%82%A4%E3%83%8E%E3%82%B3%E3%83%AA%E5%85%88%E7%94%9F_\(Inokori_Sensei\))_. (You can probably guess why I got into the _Confession_ series now...)
> 
> Cast list for this chapter:
> 
> [Rei Ichijoudani](http://actorsmusic.jp/character/chara_13.html) and [Mitsuki Akika](http://actorsmusic.jp/character/chara_02.html); [Ryou Saotome](http://actorsmusic.jp/character/chara_04.html), [Takato Kiyosu](http://actorsmusic.jp/character/chara_09.html), [Keishi Harumoto](http://actorsmusic.jp/character/chara_23.html), [Chiguma Marume](http://actorsmusic.jp/character/chara_07.html), [Mike Enjouji](http://actorsmusic.jp/character/chara_05.html), [Washiho Usuki](http://actorsmusic.jp/character/chara_08.html), and [Hinata Mitsutsuka](http://actorsmusic.jp/character/chara_01.html).
> 
>  **Mitsuki:** His songs are _[Confession Rehearsal – another story –](http://vocaloid.wikia.com/wiki/%E5%91%8A%E7%99%BD%E4%BA%88%E8%A1%8C%E7%B7%B4%E7%BF%92-another_story-_\(Kokuhaku_Yokou_Renshuu_-another_story-\))_ and [both](http://vocaloid.wikia.com/wiki/%E3%83%A4%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A2%E3%83%81%E3%81%AE%E7%AD%94%E3%81%88_\(Yakimochi_no_Kotae\)) [versions](http://vocaloid.wikia.com/wiki/%E3%83%A4%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A2%E3%83%81%E3%81%AE%E7%AD%94%E3%81%88-another_story-_\(Yakimochi_no_Kotae-another_story-\)) of _A Solution for Jealousy_ – he canonically ‘does not know/understand’ love, but he can be surprisingly possessive if need be (well, granted, that protective instinct was for his _laptop_ , but...)
> 
>  **Rei:** His song is _[Confession Rehearsal](http://vocaloid.wikia.com/wiki/%E5%91%8A%E7%99%BD%E4%BA%88%E8%A1%8C%E7%B7%B4%E7%BF%92_\(Kokuhaku_Yokou_Renshuu\))_. Is the “Natsuki” in this story, thematically speaking – his confession kicks off the entire plot.
> 
> Thank you for reading this far, and I hope you...err, enjoyed this, somehow! Next update will be chapters 3 and 4, as mentioned previously – please look forward to them!


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